This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Katelyn Rodriguez. Find her on Instagram at @katelynrodwrites. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
There is potentially a new alter-ego in the music world and it involves none other than singer Miley Cyrus. On April 25, social media caught wind of an artist named Clara Pierce on Spotify who released a 12-track album called “Down With Me” on March 10. The album left many fans wondering ‘Is Clara Pierce Miley Cyrus?’ This led to the theory being posted thousands of times on social media and by various pop culture news outlets like Rolling Stone and PopSugar. If you haven’t heard about this theory yet, we have the full rundown for you, as well as our thoughts on it.
Evidence
When it comes to fan theories, sometimes the evidence can be a stretch depending on the matter being talked about. However, when it comes to Clara Pierce potentially being Miley Cyrus the evidence is hard to dispute. One of the major components leading fans to think Pierce is Cyrus is her vocals. If you have ever listened to Miley Cyrus’ music you know she has a very distinct sound, especially now that she is older. Her vocals are strong, gritty and edgy with an almost classic rock vibe to them. Pierce’s vocals are an exact copy of Miley’s, especially when it comes to the ballads and high notes.
Not only were fans noticing the vocal similarities, but some of the songs, for example, “Sagittarius” and “Right Hand Man,” were supposed to appear on Cyrus’ scrapped seventh album “She Is Miley Cyrus.” Another thing fans noticed is that the release of Pierce’s “Down With You” coincided with the release of Cyrus’ eighth studio album “Endless Summer Vacation” on March 10. “Down With You” remained on both Spotify and Apple Music for a little over a month before it was removed on April 25 shortly after it went viral on social media. However, some fans are convinced the album was created by artificial intelligence (A.I.) since there has been a rise in A.I.-generated songs from some of the most popular artists including Harry Styles and Rihanna. For example, an A.I.-generated collaboration between Drake and The Weeknd titled “Heart on My Sleeve” recently went viral on TikTok and was put on Spotify. It was quickly taken down by the streaming platform and the audio was removed from creator GhostWriter977’s TikTok videos. Although the theory has yet to be confirmed or denied by Cyrus or her team, it hasn’t stopped fans from listening to the songs on YouTube.
Verdict
After getting a text from one of my best friends about the theory on April 25, I immediately went onto my Spotify and looked up Clara Pierce. I hit play on the album and from the first note I knew it was Miley Cyrus. Having grown up listening to her music from her Hannah Montana days until now the vocal similarities were immediately apparent to me. Some of the stylings of the songs were reminiscent of her “Bangers” era, while others fit with the “She Is Coming” and “She Is Miley Cyrus” era. A majority of the songs were breakup songs, which makes sense considering what has gone on in her life over the last few years, but each one was also poignant. I do think these songs just happened to be released under a pseudonym with the original intention that nobody would find them since many artists have done it in the past. However, I disagree with some fans thinking they have been generated using A.I. This is because with A.I. generated songs, there are certain notes the intelligence can’t hit and there is almost a robotic quality or wobble to some of the songs and covers being circulated on TikTok. With Pierce’s release, there aren’t any telltale signs I can pick up on that lead me to believe her album was generated by artificial intelligence. Whether you think this release from Clara Pierce is truly Miley Cyrus or not, I am a firm believer that it is.
What do you think? Is Clara Pierce Miley Cyrus? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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